I've always had a tepid reaction to the oil industry in western
Canada. Feeling that any benefit it brought beyond the 100,000 and
some employed in the industry was pretty much offset by the pain in
the ass it brought. Such things as congestion and accelerated wear on
infrastructure, higher cost of living, expensive low skill labor and
a high incidence of douches driving jacked up dodge diesels sporting
truck nuts.
None the less for the better part of a decade I've taken a live and
let live approach to the whole situation and even at times taking
opportunities to defend and sell the sector and it's practices to the
naysayers. Now however this sector of Canadian business is taking a
real and meaningful bite out my, our, standard of living by
displacing millions of tonnes of grain capacity on the rail system.
The system is so crippled that foreign grain buyers have quit bidding
for Canadian product. All this while a quick call to a buddy working
at an oil loading facility confirmed most cars were spotted TWO DAYS
late.
This begs the question. Do we as a farm industry throw our weight
behind the already highly funded, highly organized and highly
effective anti "Tar sands" and anti fracking lobby? I hate to do it
but if you're not part of the solution you're likely part of the
problem.
Thoughts. Comments?
Canada. Feeling that any benefit it brought beyond the 100,000 and
some employed in the industry was pretty much offset by the pain in
the ass it brought. Such things as congestion and accelerated wear on
infrastructure, higher cost of living, expensive low skill labor and
a high incidence of douches driving jacked up dodge diesels sporting
truck nuts.
None the less for the better part of a decade I've taken a live and
let live approach to the whole situation and even at times taking
opportunities to defend and sell the sector and it's practices to the
naysayers. Now however this sector of Canadian business is taking a
real and meaningful bite out my, our, standard of living by
displacing millions of tonnes of grain capacity on the rail system.
The system is so crippled that foreign grain buyers have quit bidding
for Canadian product. All this while a quick call to a buddy working
at an oil loading facility confirmed most cars were spotted TWO DAYS
late.
This begs the question. Do we as a farm industry throw our weight
behind the already highly funded, highly organized and highly
effective anti "Tar sands" and anti fracking lobby? I hate to do it
but if you're not part of the solution you're likely part of the
problem.
Thoughts. Comments?